Prior to writing this book – a peek behind the curtain of how the police approached, recovered from, and finally solved, two horrendous attacks that robbed two innocent girls of their lives and left another scarred for life – I was as tainted by decades of misinformation as most of my colleagues.
I had bought into the ‘cock-up’ explanation that underscored any mention of the injustice of the first trial. Indeed, some less thoughtful elements of the press perpetuate this myth to the extent that even Bernie Wells, one of the finest investigators I have had the pleasure to meet, started to doubt himself. It was only after the second trial, when I showed him the judge’s summing-up from the first, did he understand what might have gone wrong.
There were mistakes back in 1986. Hindsight shows us how things could have been done differently but the overwhelming conclusion this reinvestigation and retrial has arrived at is that, as far as the forensics were concerned, there was more than enough to convict Bishop at his first trial. The problems seemed to lie elsewhere and we have set those out.
However, on another level, this case has shown the public the tenacity and professionalism of police, scientists and prosecutors to never give up. Sparked by indefatigable families, behind the scenes all those charged with keeping our communities safe worked tirelessly to bring a double child killer to justice.
Review teams, or ‘Cold Case Squads’, operate up and down the country striving to exploit the burgeoning scientific progress and the latest laws to bring justice to those denied it in the way the Fellowses and Hadaways were. We have yet to find a double jeopardy retrial that ended in a second acquittal. That does not happen by luck. It is a testament to those who run our ever-shrinking police forces that these crucial units survive.
Six months on, Jeff Riley has become the head of crime for Brighton and Hove and is looking forward to spending more time tending to and sailing his boat in retirement.
Sussex Police has changed beyond all recognition. The likes of Mac and Dudley Button no longer exist. They were casualties of the swingeing government cuts so much of the public sector still endures. Major Crime Teams, however, have raised the bar for professional murder investigations. The way the police handle witnesses, suspects, technology and forensics is light years ahead of the 1980s, as is the expectation and scrutiny from the courts, public and themselves. It doesn’t bear thinking about that some pen-pusher would ever have these Teams in their sights.
There is a sense of closure within Brighton and Hove. Like so many, on each of the thousands of times I drove past Wild Park during the years of injustice, I ached for Nicola, Karen and their families. I still ache but now reconcile myself with the knowledge that, eventually, the right outcome was reached.
The estate itself is pretty much as it was, both physically and demographically, but its voice and influence on the city’s policing and its politics is stronger than ever.
Wild Park looks exactly the same except the rundown pavilion is now home to the amazing Clare’s Cafe that serves a full menu of homemade fare to shame any high street restaurant chain.
The police box is now a car wash and the A27 John Rodway delighted in log-jamming now skirts the city, only rejoining it at the very fringe of Moulsecoomb where Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club now play.
It’s hard for the families to speak of closure. Barrie Fellows feels vindicated by the verdict but these murders ripped them apart and Bishop’s arrogance and self-serving meant that many, including Lee Hadaway and Nicola’s brother, Jonathan, never saw justice.
Each surviving parent has taken part in TV documentaries, one hosted by Sir Trevor Macdonald which was inspired by this book. These have provided them with a voice that was for decades muted but they will never get over the unimaginable loss Bishop inflicted on them and neither should anyone expect them to.
As in Death Comes Knocking Peter and I wanted to show the human side of policing and how ordinary men and women do extraordinary things to bring killers to justice. Sometimes they make mistakes, but they wear those heavily and never give up.
In telling this story, however, we hope we have served the memory of Nicola and Karen. At the time of writing they would have been forty-two years old and could well have had children of their own. One man, of unspeakable evil, snatched that possibility from them to satiate his own perverted desires. We will never know what they would have become but, if their families were their blueprint, they would have been forces for good.
The tenacity and determination of the Hadaways, the Fellowses and the Heffrons is, quite frankly, humbling. They knew Bishop had killed the girls and, as they said to us during the research for this book, they made plans for their fight to be passed down the generations if necessary. Thankfully it was not, as thirty-two years of lobbying the police, prosecutors and parliament finally brought them what they were denied in 1987.
Claire, at the tender age of seven, shared that gutsy resolve. How many children of that age would have had her presence of mind, recall and courage following an attack she was not supposed to survive? Her name, and that of her family, is protected by law so they have not become synonymous with these dreadful events but we should still remember that she too lives with Bishop’s evil every day, and we pray she finds some peace in the likelihood he will never be free.
Finally, the case touched generations of police. Once they could, Sussex Police published as many details as possible on the force’s external website. The thousands of views and hundreds of positive comments, many from serving and former officers and staff, showed just how many careers were defined by this extraordinary case. I know several who live with the demons of what happened back in the late 1980s and since. Their pain is nothing compared to that of Nicola and Karen’s families and of Claire and hers but they still hurt day in day out.
Despite how it might have seemed, no one forgot those little girls and their families and no one ever will. No one should have to fear going to their own graves denied of justice. The law, science and professional expertise are now in place to ensure that need not happen, providing the police, CPS and the courts are sufficiently resourced to make sure it does not.
Finally, in the words of Jeff Riley, we sincerely hope that ‘Russell Bishop never darkens the streets of Brighton again’.
Rest in peace, Nicola and Karen.